2 Kings 24

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2 Kings 24

1 In his days Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up, and Jehoiakim became his servant three years: then he turned and rebelled against him.

2 And the Lord sent against him bands of the Chaldees, and bands of the Syrians, and bands of the Moabites, and bands of the children of Ammon, and sent them against Judah to destroy it, according to the word of the Lord, which he spake by his servants the prophets.

3 Surely at the commandment of the Lord came this upon Judah, to remove them out of his sight, for the sins of Manasseh, according to all that he did;

4 And also for the innocent blood that he shed: for he filled Jerusalem with innocent blood; which the Lord would not pardon.

5 Now the rest of the acts of Jehoiakim, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?

6 So Jehoiakim slept with his fathers: and Jehoiachin his son reigned in his stead.

7 And the king of Egypt came not again any more out of his land: for the king of Babylon had taken from the river of Egypt unto the river Euphrates all that pertained to the king of Egypt.

8 Jehoiachin was eighteen years old when he began to reign, and he reigned in Jerusalem three months. And his mother's name was Nehushta, the daughter of Elnathan of Jerusalem.

9 And he did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord, according to all that his father had done.

10 At that time the servants of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up against Jerusalem, and the city was besieged.

11 And Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came against the city, and his servants did besiege it.

12 And Jehoiachin the king of Judah went out to the king of Babylon, he, and his mother, and his servants, and his princes, and his officers: and the king of Babylon took him in the eighth year of his reign.

13 And he carried out thence all the treasures of the house of the Lord, and the treasures of the king's house, and cut in pieces all the vessels of gold which Solomon king of Israel had made in the temple of the Lord, as the Lord had said.

14 And he carried away all Jerusalem, and all the princes, and all the mighty men of valour, even ten thousand captives, and all the craftsmen and smiths: none remained, save the poorest sort of the people of the land.

15 And he carried away Jehoiachin to Babylon, and the king's mother, and the king's wives, and his officers, and the mighty of the land, those carried he into captivity from Jerusalem to Babylon.

16 And all the men of might, even seven thousand, and craftsmen and smiths a thousand, all that were strong and apt for war, even them the king of Babylon brought captive to Babylon.

17 And the king of Babylon made Mattaniah his father's brother king in his stead, and changed his name to Zedekiah.

18 Zedekiah was twenty and one years old when he began to reign, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Hamutal, the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah.

19 And he did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord, according to all that Jehoiakim had done.

20 For through the anger of the Lord it came to pass in Jerusalem and Judah, until he had cast them out from his presence, that Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon.

Notes

Cross Reference

Commentary

Rashi

Verse 3

<html>Indeed, it was by the order of Adonoy. All the calamity that befell Yehudah through these bands.¹I.e., all the calamity had been preordained from the time of Menashe's reign.—Radak</html>

Verse 6

<html>Yehoyakim lay with his forefathers. [He did] not die in his bed, for Nevuchadnetzar bound him with chains to take him to Bavel, and when they were dragging him he died in their hands,²Scripture therefore, does not mention his burial. There are several different opinions surrounding the circumstances of Yehoyakim's death and burial. See Vayikra Rabboh 19:6. as it is stated, ”With the burial of a donkey will he be buried, dragged and thrown,”³Yirmiyahu 22:19. and in Divrei Hayomim it is written⁴II Divrei Hayomim 36:6. The verse there states, “Nevuchadnetzar king of Bavel attacked him [Yehoyakim] and bound him in chains to take him to Bavel.” that Nevuchadnetzar bound him to take him to Bavel.</html>

Verse 7

<html>Left his land. To aid Yehoyakim. For the king of Bavel had taken, etc. For he defeated him in battle in the fourth year of Yehoyakim in Charchemish on the Euphrates River, as it is written in the Book of Yirmiyohu.⁵46:2.</html>

Verse 12

<html> Yehoyachin king of Yehudah, came out to the king of Bavel. That he do to him as he wishes, and not for war.⁶Nevuchadnetzar, at this time, did not come to destroy Yerusholayim. He only demanded that Yehoyachin be handed over to him. See Vayikra Rabboh 19:6.</html>

Verse 14

<html>Craftsmen and gatekeepers. [Targum] Yonoson rendered the craftsmen and the sentries of the gates. But, our Rabbis said that these were great Torah scholars,⁷I.e., “craftsmen and gatekeepers” is a metaphoric allusion to Torah scholars. See Maseches Sanhedrin 38a. that when one would begin [to speak], all remained silent [=חרש], as it is written, “Be silent before Me, O islands.”⁸Yeshayohu 41:1. ”מסגר” [is one who] all sit before him and learn from him, as it is stated, ”And he will open, and no one will close, and he will close, and no one will open.”⁹Ibid 22:22. ¹⁰See Maseches Gittin 88a.</html>

Verse 15

<html>And the dignitaries of the land. These are the dignitaries of Yehudah and Binyomin, who were righteous men. Concerning them Scripture states, ”Like these good figs, so will I recognize the exiles of Yehudah.”¹¹Yirmiyahu 24:5.</html>

Verse 16

<html>Seven thousand. But above he states, “ten thousand.”¹²Above, v. 14. The third verse comes to reconcile [the difference], in the Book of Yirmiyohu, ”This is the people whom Nevuchadnetzar exiled in the seventh year, three thousand Jews.”¹³Yirmiyahu 52:28. The verse there states, “three thousand and twenty-three Jews.” We deduce from here that three thousand were of the tribe of Yehudah and seven thousand were of Binyomin and the other tribes. Also in Seder Olam we learned this.</html>

Verse 17

<html>And changed his name to Tzidkiyohu. May God justify the judgment upon you if you rebel against me.¹⁴See Maseches Horiyos 11b.</html>

Verse 20

<html>Indeed the wrath of Adonoy was, etc. Therefore, Tzidkiyohu rebelled against the king of Bavel. The Holy One, Blessed Is He, gave him the desire to rebel against him in order that he would be exiled.¹⁵God incited Tzidkiyohu to rebel in order to exile the Bnei Yisroel from Eretz Yisroel.</html>

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Table of Contents

2 Kings 24

2 Kings 24

Notes

Cross Reference

Commentary

Rashi

Verse 3

Verse 6

Verse 7

Verse 12

Verse 14

Verse 15

Verse 16

Verse 17

Verse 20